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J Bacteriol. 1968 November; 96(5): 1690-1695
Copyright © 1968 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Spore Germination in Strains of Dictyostelium discoideum and Other Members of the Dictyosteliaceae¹

Departments of Bacteriology and Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

ABSTRACT

Spores of all strains of Dictyostelium discoideum tested in this study germinated after a heat shock of 45 C for 30 min. Whereas the strains differed in their rates of germination, the rate for each strain was constant. A correlation existed between the rate of germination and the rate of vegetative growth when spores were inoculated into bacterial streaks. Heat shock clearly increased spore germination in D. purpureum, but the response was less dramatic than in D. discoideum. Enhancement also occurred in D. rosarium, but only in media containing peptone. Strains of D. mucoroides gave varied responses, and these could be divided into those which required mutrients for spore germination and those which did not. The spores of Polysphondylium pallidum were resistant to mild heat (45 C), but were not activated; peptone was required for germination. In contrast, the microcysts of this species were heat-labile and required no added nutrients for excystment.

² Present address: Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822.

¹ Part of a thesis offered by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, University of Wisconsin, Madison.